A mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by Plasmodium parasites transmitted through the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes, producing cyclical fevers and chills and, in severe cases, organ failure and death. Ancient physicians associated the disease with swampy air, giving it its name from the Italian mal aria, bad air, before the parasite and its mosquito vector were identified in the late nineteenth century. It remains, per the World Health Organization, one of the world's leading causes of death among young children in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Facts
Condition Class Causative AgentPlasmodium parasites (chiefly Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax), transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes 3 First DescribedMarks Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran's identification of the Plasmodium parasite in a patient's blood, not the disease's first recognition, which is ancient. First Described (Era)Intermittent fevers consistent with malaria are described in Chinese medical texts dating to around 2700 BCE and in the writings of Hippocrates, circa 400 BCE. 4 PrevalenceAn estimated 249 million malaria cases and 608,000 malaria deaths occurred worldwide in 2022, according to World Health Organization data. 5 Classification
ICD-10 ChapterI: Certain Infectious and Parasitic Diseases 1 Communicable or Non-communicable Transmission Route Connections
Associated With
Source A History of MedicineLois N. Magner
Source Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information
Source Medical Microbiology (Wikipedia)
Tu Youyou was inspired by a traditional Chinese medicine recipe attributed to Ge Hong, circa 340 CE, in isolating artemisinin as an antimalarial.
Source A Nobel for Natural Product Discoveries
Long-Form Articles
Treated By
Source A History of MedicineLois N. Magner
Source Artemisinin (Wikipedia)
Bloodletting, Treatments Why this is corrected. Under humoral theory, physicians bled patients against intermittent and quartan fevers, including what would now be recognized as malaria. The practice had no effect on the parasite and often worsened outcomes through blood loss; quinine, derived from cinchona bark, became the first genuinely effective treatment from the seventeenth century onward, though this atlas does not yet carry a dedicated quinine or antimalarial-therapy treatment entity (see the gap record).
Source A History of MedicineLois N. Magner
Source Chloroquine (Wikipedia)
Malaria prophylaxis is medication taken to prevent and manage malaria in travelers to endemic areas.
Mosquito control is a core public health measure against malaria transmission.
Source Quinine (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Wikipedia: ICD-10
WikipediaList of chapters, Chapter IQuote, List of chapters, Chapter I
Certain infectious and parasitic diseases
2. Wikipedia: Malaria
WikipediaLead section, transmission-route statementQuote, Lead section, transmission-route statement
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that is transmitted by the bite of Anopheles mosquitoes.
3. Encyclopaedia Britannica
4. A History of Medicine
Lois N. Magner, CRC Press
5. World Health Organization Fact Sheets
Infectious Disease Subspecialties Career Information
American College of PhysiciansAssociated With: Infectious DiseaseView the Source A Nobel for Natural Product Discoveries
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of HealthAssociated With: Traditional Chinese MedicineView the Source Quinine (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationTreated By: Quinine, Lead sectionQuote, Treated By: Quinine, Lead section
used to treat malaria and babesiosis
Artemisinin (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationTreated By: Artemisinin, Lead sectionQuote, Treated By: Artemisinin, Lead section
used in the treatment of malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum
Chloroquine (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationTreated By: Chloroquine, Lead sectionQuote, Treated By: Chloroquine, Lead section
an antiparasitic medication that treats malaria
Medical Microbiology (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAssociated With: Medical Microbiology, Commonly treated infectious diseases section, Parasitic subsectionQuote, Associated With: Medical Microbiology, Commonly treated infectious diseases section, Parasitic subsection
Malaria
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the name malaria come from?
From the Italian mal aria, meaning bad air.
The name comes from the Italian mal aria, bad air, because ancient physicians associated the disease with swampy air. The parasite and its mosquito vector were only identified in the late nineteenth century.
How is malaria transmitted?
Through the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes.
Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites and is transmitted through the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes.
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